I think a lot of the questioning of the Swanson pick comes from the widely held notion that he will sit this year and be groomed to start next year. Does anybody think there's a chance he already starts this year? Yes, Raiola had a nice season last year, but we all know he's a d*** and has made a lot of questionable choices in the past that reflected badly on the organization. He seems to be the exact opposite of what Caldwell is looking for from a character standpoint. For that reason, if Swanson shows he's up to the task, I wouldn't rule out his being the day one starter. What do you think?

_________________"Good teams don't worry about a whole lot of stuff. They travel, they play, they win. And it doesn't matter where they go, what the time block is, all those kinds of things. They never seem to bother teams that play well, and we want to be one of those teams." -Jim Caldwell

May 19th, 2014, 12:09 pm

regularjoe12

Def. Coordinator – Teryl Austin

Joined: March 30th, 2006, 12:48 amPosts: 4212Location: Davison Mi

Re: Swanson to start this year?

thelomasbrowns wrote:

I think a lot of the questioning of the Swanson pick comes from the widely held notion that he will sit this year and be groomed to start next year. Does anybody think there's a chance he already starts this year? Yes, Raiola had a nice season last year, but we all know he's a d*** and has made a lot of questionable choices in the past that reflected badly on the organization. He seems to be the exact opposite of what Caldwell is looking for from a character standpoint. For that reason, if Swanson shows he's up to the task, I wouldn't rule out his being the day one starter. What do you think?

To be honest, the first time he sees the field durring a game would probably be at guard for Simms IMO. Simms didnt look good last year and it could be a decline due to age. The same mighth be said for Dom, but so far he isnt showing that he is losing a step quite yet.

_________________2013 Lionbacker Fantasy Football Champion

May 19th, 2014, 12:58 pm

Pablo

RIP Killer

Joined: August 6th, 2004, 9:21 amPosts: 10024Location: Dallas

Re: Swanson to start this year?

If Dom plays anywhere near the level he did last year Swanson isn't suiting up as center. I agree with Joe in the fact I see him much more likely at guard in 2014.

Let's hope Sims is over whatever ailed him last year and we have the exact same lineup, they did a nice job and continuity is key along the LOS.

If Dom plays anywhere near the level he did last year Swanson isn't suiting up as center. I agree with Joe in the fact I see him much more likely at guard in 2014.

Let's hope Sims is over whatever ailed him last year and we have the exact same lineup, they did a nice job and continuity is key along the LOS.

I agree with everything except the continuity statement. We maintained offensive line continuity for most of the Millen years and on up until last year. Our Offensive line sucked.

Last year we said screw continuity and changed 3 out of 5 positions. We had the best Offensive line we have had since Mike Utley got paralyzed.

May 19th, 2014, 10:30 pm

The Legend

Team President - Rod Wood

Joined: February 11th, 2005, 3:01 pmPosts: 5021Location: WSU

Re: Swanson to start this year?

raiola is coming off his best year, sims possibly his worst. there could be a spot for swanson sometime soon but i dont think he s a day 1 starter unless there is an injury

May 20th, 2014, 8:09 am

jrd66

Mr. Irrelevant

Joined: February 10th, 2005, 6:52 pmPosts: 961Location: Linden, MI

Re: Swanson to start this year?

m2karateman wrote:

Pablo wrote:

If Dom plays anywhere near the level he did last year Swanson isn't suiting up as center. I agree with Joe in the fact I see him much more likely at guard in 2014.

Let's hope Sims is over whatever ailed him last year and we have the exact same lineup, they did a nice job and continuity is key along the LOS.

+1

Sims is a solid player. Very good when he's on. I'm not ready to call it over for him just yet. We shall see

_________________OK. Schwartz is fired, the fans are happy, now what?

May 21st, 2014, 10:51 pm

m2karateman

RIP Killer

Joined: October 20th, 2004, 4:16 pmPosts: 10408Location: Where ever I'm at now

Re: Swanson to start this year?

BillySims wrote:

Pablo wrote:

If Dom plays anywhere near the level he did last year Swanson isn't suiting up as center. I agree with Joe in the fact I see him much more likely at guard in 2014.

Let's hope Sims is over whatever ailed him last year and we have the exact same lineup, they did a nice job and continuity is key along the LOS.

I agree with everything except the continuity statement. We maintained offensive line continuity for most of the Millen years and on up until last year. Our Offensive line sucked.

Last year we said screw continuity and changed 3 out of 5 positions. We had the best Offensive line we have had since Mike Utley got paralyzed.

We did not have continuity on the OL during Millen's tenure. We had a REVOLVING DOOR at left guard until Rob Sims was brought in AFTER Millen was fired. We also had an issue at right tackle until Gosder Cherilus, and even then his performance until his final season here was subpar. Stephen Peterman was inconsistent at right guard, even if he rarely missed games. This offensive line that has been put together is ten times better than anything we had under Millen, based on talent alone. However, the fact that the same five played the majority of the season in the same positions game to game goes a LONG way toward them being better overall.

_________________I will not put on blinders when it comes to our QBs performances.